Thursday Recruitin' Eats Dirt Comment Count

Ace

Today's recruiting roundup covers a potential new 2013 offer, the updated 2013 ESPN300, the latest on Gareon Conley and Laquon Treadwell, and more.

New Offer? Nope. Hilarious Ref Faceplant? Yup.

Scout's Mike Coppage reported yesterday that Michigan recently offered LA ATH Trevell Dixon, a former Nebraska commit who could play wide receiver or defensive back in college, though the recruiting services appear to have him pegged as a safety. Tremendous reports that Dixon—a four-star on Rivals and ESPN, a three-star on Scout and 247—is now considering an official visit to Michigan, but it's also noted that he heard about the offer from Coppage, not the coaches; it's worth waiting for word to come out from a team source before considering this a concrete offer.

And, as I write this, TomVH comes through to report that Dixon does not hold an offer—any time a player hears the news from a reporter as opposed to, you know, the coaches who'd relay that offer, the veracity is very much in question. I've come this far, though, and already titled the post, so here are Dixon's highlights—come for the impressive athleticism (he's the quarterback in these highlights), stay for the ref spectacularly eating dirt at the :50 mark:

[EDIT: Now in gif form, because I'm the worst kind of person:

]

Nice hustle, though.

While Dixon doesn't hold an offer at this point, I'd bet that the coaches are taking a look options to replace Gareon Conley—while Leon McQuay III is the ideal candidate, you can't go all in on landing a five-star from Florida.

[Hit THE JUMP for movement in the updated ESPN300, this weekend's slated visitors, the latest on Gareon Conley and Laquon Treadwell, and more.]

ESPN 300 Changes: Minor, Unless You Had Mono

The ESPN300 got its latest update yesterday, and the changes for Michigan commits are as follows:

  • Shane Morris moved down from #26 to #54
  • Gareon Conley moved up from #63 to #62
  • Dymonte Thomas moved down from #94 to #97
  • Logan Tuley-Tillman moved down from #102 to #105
  • Mike McCray moved down from #108 to #111
  • Chris Fox moved down from #112 to #113
  • Patrick Kugler moved up from #116 to #115
  • Taco Charlton moved up from #120 to #119
  • Kyle Bosch moved down from #126 to #127
  • Jake Butt moved down from #171 to #176
  • Jaron Dukes moved down from #224 to #233
  • Ben Gedeon moved down from #278 to #282
  • Henry Poggi moved down from #259 to #288

The only significant changes are for Shane Morris, who dropped 28 spots after missing a significant chunk of his senior season with mono, and Henry Poggi, who fell 29 spots but stays within the top 300. For what it's worth, Laquon Treadwell moved up to #20 and is now ESPN's #1 wide receiver in the class.

ESPN wasn't the only service to give Treadwell some rankings love, as Josh Helmholdt made the case for him earning five stars in his latest edition of Around the Midwest ($):

What Treadwell did over the summer, though, is being eclipsed by how the Chicago-area prospect is playing this fall. Crete-Monee is a perfect 11-0 on the season after a come-from-behind 35-32 victory over Peoria Richwoods to move onto the third round of the class 6A playoffs. Treadwell has 62 receptions on the season for 1,147 yards and 13 touchdowns in those 11 games. He has also carried the ball 14 times for 122 yards and four more scores.

...

What the stats do not show is Treadwell's proficiency as a downfield blocker or the opportunities he provides for his teammates just by being on the field.

Throughout this 2013 class we have been wondering where the five-star wide receivers are. Well, we may have found that answer.

Yup, still in the "DO WANT" category.

Chantel Jennings updates Treadwell's recruitment over at WolverineNation; he maintains the same top five—Michigan, Michigan State, Ole Miss, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State—but now says that Illinois and Notre Dame will receive unofficial visits ($). The three southern schools are still in line for officials, and he still plans to visit Ann Arbor after his season. I'd be surprised if either Illinois or Notre Dame makes a serious push for his commitment, but we'll see how he responds after taking visits—those won't happen until after his season is over.

Conley Visits: Still In The Works

Scout's Bill Greene has the latest update on Gareon Conley, who's talked to the coaches about his plans and knows their policy means he wouldn't be considered a commitment. That hasn't changed his plans ($):

"Oregon has not offered me yet, but they told me they would offer if I take an official visit there, and I want to do that," Conley continued. "I'm going to do that, but it might not happen for a while, because I'm planning on playing the next four weeks. The same with Ohio State, and I can't tell them when I will be able to visit. I'm not even sure if that would be an official, or unofficial visit. Ohio State has offered me a scholarship. I respect the Michigan coaches, and they have to do what they have to do, and I have to do the same. I'm not really going to think about this stuff until after my season is over, and I'm planning on that not happening for four more weeks. That's really all I want to say."

It's been heading in this direction for a while; Conley talking with the coaches and still planning to take visits is likely the final nail in the coffin. C'mon, Oregon.

The Boston Globe has a short feature on Maurice Hurst Jr. at the 3:20 mark of this video. Nothing too groundbreaking, though hopefully we'll have his mother in the Big House leading the "Go Blue" cowbell chant—she apparently brings one to all his games.

Etc.

Tremendous has your updated list of visitors for the Northwestern game, headlined by Leon McQuay III, the only uncommitted senior prospect currently slated to be on campus—it appears he'll be hearing the vaunted Shane Morris recruiting pitch this weekend. Tremendous also has a quick rundown of the factors going in Michigan's favor for McQuay; if they're smart, you'll hear plenty of JDK & Rey on Saturday.

Notable 2014 visitors include four-star OH WR Derek Kief, four-star OH ATH Dareian Watkins, PA QB Andrew Ford, MI TE Kyle Rachwal (making his fourth visit of the season), and Scout's #41 overall player, NJ DE/TE Garrett Dickerson. None of those players have offers, though it wouldn't be surprising if a few received theirs while on campus, especially Dickerson, Kief, and Watkins.

Happy trails to 2014 NY OL/DL Jay Hayes, who committed to Notre Dame yesterday.

Yes, you've probably seen this. Yes, the video is clearly sped up. Yes, it's still awesome.

Comments

BK-bloo

November 8th, 2012 at 12:12 PM ^

seems like the buzz from being actively recruited creates positive push on these rankings, moreso than what a long-time commit can generate just from having a good senior year.

Rawls NTR

November 8th, 2012 at 12:26 PM ^

Like the rollerblading raptor gif, the ref faceplant at the :50 mark is made even funnier by what happens before the faceplant.  The way he is pumping his arms, its amazing he didn't go down even sooner.  Can't.  Stop.  Watching.

Blue In NC

November 8th, 2012 at 12:32 PM ^

Ace, I am a bit puzzled by your rooting for Oregon.  I thought the policy was "we will no longer consider you committed" but that didn't mean that a re-commit was impossible (at least some think that).  You statements indicate that visits by Conley mean UM will no longer recruit Conley even if Conley was up front about it.  Did I miss something where the "official policy" was stated?

Blue In NC

November 8th, 2012 at 5:08 PM ^

Thanks.  I think some (including me and the guys at Tremendous) thought the policy was "we will no longer consider you committed but will still recruit you but only if you are up front with us."  Frankly I like that policy better.

Sounds like Ace does not believe the above is the policy.  If that's accurate then the policy is simply as you stated.

JimLahey

November 8th, 2012 at 12:33 PM ^

Everytime these updated lists come out and I see guys moving up or down 5 or 6 spots it reminds me how utterly fucking worthless following the lists can be. Here is how I look at it:

Top 20: Unbelievable Talent

Top 100: Sweet

Top 250/300: Still pretty sweet

Below top 250/300: Lower chance of success but who the hell knows?

Aside from that, I just can't get myself to care about who is ranked #35 and who is ranked #90.

bronxblue

November 8th, 2012 at 12:42 PM ^

In general, this ranking stuff drives me crazy because somehow a kid with mono drops 25+ spaces in a couple of weeks.  That either means a bunch of kids suddenly look  much better, or the ADD kicked in and kids who are not on the front line are forgotten.  Not that I much care, but it's the same way I feel about the HOF.  You are not "adding" to your HOF legacy while out of the game, so if you aren't good enough at the start how is it you are better 5 years later?  I know outside factors like peers being caught with drugs or cheating has some impact, but if you were a .270 hitter with meh pop and a great glove when you retired, 10 years later you aren't a better player than that.

turtleboy

November 8th, 2012 at 12:50 PM ^

Man she just runs by defenders. Great speed, elusive, gets great yards after contact. Love the way she battles through contact, and bounces outside of defenders, using her speed to get to the edge. Reads the defense pretty well, too, but doesn't have great lateral ability. She's gonna need to learn to make a few cuts because she's not gonna get away with some of those runs at the next level. Heard USC already bought her parents a house, though.

Belisarius

November 8th, 2012 at 12:54 PM ^

Obvuiously, it would suck to see Conley go to our archrival. But then again, if he goes to the Ducks, that will be three years in a row they've stolen one of our recruits. That hurts my Wolverine pride.

Ace

November 8th, 2012 at 2:27 PM ^

Nope—way too time-consuming compared to their value (questionable, especially compared to football and considering the relative wealth of advanced basketball stats). I might look at other ways of charting games, but I'll also be pretty busy since I'll be attending every home game (and hopefully some road games) and also covering my fair share of pressers—we'll see how it shakes out once football season is over and I have a little more time to focus on hoops.

EDIT: To clarify, I will probably do the shot chart for both teams that I had in the UFRs last year, but I won't be doing a full play-by-play chart.

Magnus

November 8th, 2012 at 1:04 PM ^

I can deal with the Rivals, ESPN, and Scout lists changing, because they only change every few months or so.  There will naturally be some risers and fallers after summer camps, combines, and games.  The site that really annoys me is 247, which changes its rankings seemingly every three weeks.

chewieblue

November 8th, 2012 at 1:14 PM ^

Still struggling to haul in marquee offensive playmaker types. My theory is that a staff who empasizes team and unity as much as our does, might be a slight turn off for a 5 star kid who is getting his arse kissed by scummier types (aka.... Chip, Nick, Urbs.... Etc.) and being constantly told how he is nearly God. Any thoughts?

raisemeup

November 8th, 2012 at 1:53 PM ^

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it clear what Conley is doing/ has done for his recruitment?   U-M was his first big offer- he committed to save a spot (in case he ultimately decided to go to Michigan) and ensure a full college scholarship in case of injury during his senior season.  Now that his senior season is ending and other big name schools are after him, he is deciding to look around and get the official visit treatment  It's a pretty decent strategy and not surprising.

Magnus

November 8th, 2012 at 2:06 PM ^

Wow, you lack the ability to be objective, don't you?

Assumptions on your part:

1. He committed "to save a spot"
2. He committed just so he would have a scholarship if he got injured
3. He's looking around because other big schools are after him

Maybe he just wants to make sure he's making the right decision.  Maybe he doesn't like the development of Michigan's corners.  Maybe he doesn't like the game atmosphere.  Maybe he thinks the Big Ten sucks and can't get him ready for the NFL.  Maybe he wants to major in something that Michigan doesn't offer.  Maybe his mom wants him to stay closer to home.  Maybe he doesn't get along with the other Michigan recruits.  So on and so forth.

Let's just remember that Da'Mario Jones has done basically the exact same thing by committing to CMU and then jumping on the U of M offer, so if we want to criticize Conley, then we should be making the same comments about Jones.